The present invention is related to processes for the treatment of sludge issuing from water treatment plants and, more particularly, to a process for the treatment of sludge which conforms to the environmental laws and by means of which there is obtained a dry sludge free of pathogenic and non-pathogenic microorganisms enriched with nitrogen which can be used as a fertilizer.
In a waste water treatment plant, the effluent of the aerobic oxidation reactors is normally received by clariflocculator equipment, from the bottom of which there is extracted coagulated sludge having a solids content of approximately between about 1.5% and 2.0% and a water content of between about 98% to 98.5%, and from the top of which there is continuously spilled the so called xe2x80x9cgreyxe2x80x9d waters.
The coagulated sludge extracted from the clariflocculator is sent to a filtration or centrifuge dewatering system in order to reduce its water content to about 82% to about 85%.
The resultant sludge has a high bacteriological content comprising pathogenic and nonpathogenic microorganisms which are highly polluting to the environment. Therefore, legislation has been enacted to provide for the disposal of sludge so there is no sanitary means damage to the environment.
In view of the above, the humid sludge must be submitted to treatment processes such as land fill, pasteurization processes, incineration etc., which have the purpose of eliminating all the pathogenic and non-pathogenic microorganisms contained in the sludge.
The disposition of the sludge is a complex and problematic task, which is accomplished by use of the following processes:
a) Land Fill.
This process consists of confining the sludge in a field having the following characteristics: a low permeability, absence of geological faults, very low volumes of rainfall, and remote from towns and cities in order to avoid the pollution of the aquiferous layers with possible leaks of polluted liquid from the land fill.
Obviously, before the disposition of the sludge in the field, the surface of the field must be sealed with a waterproof and flexible plastic film, and after the deposit of each sludge layer, a very thick soil layer must be applied.
Among some of the disadvantages of the above referred process are: its high investment cost, its high operating cost and its lack of profitability.
b) Pasteurization Process and Compost Production.
This process comprises the steps of mixing the sludge with pasture; heating the resultant mix with steam and fast cooling the heated mix in order to eliminate all the pathogenic microorganisms contained in the sludge and to obtain a fertilizer called xe2x80x9ccompostxe2x80x9d which is free of any bacteriological polluting agent.
However, this process is recommended for use in low capacity wastewater treatment plants, in order to apply the produced compost to the cultivation of land in the proximity of the treatment plant due to its high transportation cost and low selling price which makes the transportation of the compost to locations remote from the plant unprofitable.
c) Rotary Dryers
The sludge drying process produces a good quality fertilizer having an average commercial value, due to its high content of organic compounds and nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium, which result from the elimination of a large percentage of the water contained in the sludge. This nutrient content can be raised to a total of 6.5% if expressed as N, P2O5 and K2O (the fertilizers by definition, must contain 20% minimum of such nutrients).
Even though the sludge drying process produces a product having an average commercial value is obtained, and that by said process the bacteriological pollution problem is solved, the significant amount of fuel used to generate the heat needed for the drying process, represents a high cost. Therefore, said process requires high investment costs and has very high operational costs, which make this process unprofitable for treating small quantities of sludge.
d) Sludge Incineration.
The sludge incineration process, has some advantages when compared with the sludge drying process. During the incineration, the combustion heat of the organic matter contained in the sludge is used, thus decreasing the energy consumption and, furthermore, the air volumes to be heated and moved are significantly smaller which constitute an additional energy consumption decrease.
The main disadvantages of the sludge incineration process are related to the drying of the sludge, mainly because of the following problems: the investment, operation and maintenance costs of the incineration step are higher than the costs of the drying step, furthermore, the incineration process is highly polluting to the environment, because the gaseous effluents produced by the incinerator are very acidic, and contain very toxic metallic compounds such as lead, arsenic, cadmium and mercury (normally present in the urban wastewater), which are considered as being very dangerous to the environment and to the health of humans and animals. Additionally, the disposition of the ashes generated by the incinerator and recollected in the ash separator, have the same polluting agents as the gaseous effluents and therefore the use of said ashes for the production of cement, for example, is very restrained.
e) Sludge Drying Beds.
Drying beds are the most widely used method of sludge dewatering in the United States. Sludge drying beds are typically used to dewater digested sludge. After drying the sludge, it is removed and either disposed of in a land fill. The most commonly used type of dry bed is the sand drying beds, which are generally used for small and medium-sized communities. In a typical sand drying bed, sludge is placed on the bed in a 20 to 30 cm layer and allowed to dry. Although the principal advantage of the drying bed is its low cost, there are highly pollutant to the environment and the dry product can not be used due to its high content of polluting agents such as bacteria and viruses.
f) Lime Stabilization.
In the lime stabilization process, lime is added to untreated sludge in sufficient quantity to raise the pH to 12 or higher. The pH creates an environment that is not conducive to the survival of microorganisms. Consequently, the sludge will not putrefy or create odors so long as the pH is maintained at this level. However, lime stabilization does not destroy the organics necessary for bacterial growth. Therefore the sludge cannot be used and must be treated with an excess of lime or disposed of before the pH drops significantly.
g) Ocean Disposal.
The Ocean disposal is highly polluting and therefore less and less acceptable by the governments of most countries.
h) Other Processes.
Some investigators have studied and developed some new processes by which interesting results are obtained. For example, by mixing the sludge with construction cement powder and processing the mix inside a granulation machine, granules of fertilizer are obtained which are useful for certain acidic soils such as those predominating in Europe or at the coasts of the Gulf of Mexico.
In order to solve the above-referenced problems, research was conducted to find a new technologic route which besides complying with the rules of the environmental laws, it would generate a product having a sufficiently high commercial value as to sell product and to recover the investment at commercial interest rates and at short term.
There has been developed a process for the treatment of sludge which uses as raw materials: elemental sulfur, formaldehyde, ammonia, urea, chlorine, and sulphuric acid, and comprises the steps of feeding the sludge into a pre-dryer into which is fed a hot gas stream containing sulfur trioxide produced by the combustion and catalytic oxidation of sulfur with air and, finally, completely drying the sludge by feeding it into an ammoniator.
There are other processes which also use the heat generated by certain chemical reactions in order to dry and disinfect the sludge and to transform it into a saleable product.
1) Lime Sludge Treatment.
In this process, the calcium oxide is reacted with water contained in the sludge to be treated in order to obtain calcium hydroxide.
During the liming of the sludge, the pH and the mass temperature is raised to such levels that the complete destruction of the pathogenic and non-pathogenic microorganisms is guaranteed, and the product generated by the liming process is a good additive for acid soils.
In this process, for each ton of calcium hydroxide obtained, only 243 kg of water are fixed. Thus, for a complete drying of the sludge, 16 tons of calcium hydroxide are required to be added per ton of sludge.
2) Sulphuric Acid and Limestone Sludge Treatment.
In this process the limestone is reacted with sulphuric acid in order to obtain calcium sulfate, which when cooled, retains two crystallization water molecules and produces a hardening of the mass.
When the sludge is mixed with the sulphuric acid, the pH is lowered and the mass temperature is increased to such levels that the complete destruction of the pathogenic and nonpathogenic microorganisms is guaranteed and the product generated by the liming process is a good additive for alkaline soils.
In this process for each ton of gypsum obtained, there are fixed 309 kg of water and there are evaporated 100 kg of water. Thus, for a complete drying of the sludge, it is required to add 5.5 tons of sulphuric acid and 5.4 tons of limestone for each ton of humid sludge.
3) Ammoniacal and Sulphuric Acid Sludge Treatment.
With this treatment better results are achieved than with the sulphuric acid and limestone sludge treatment, since when the sulphuric acid is neutralized with ammonia instead of limestone, the product achieves the category of fertilizer and has a higher commercial value.
In this process, for each ton of ammonium sulfate obtained, 760 kgs of water are evaporated. Thus, for a complete drying of the sludge, 3.8 tons of sulphuric acid and 1.3 tons of ammonia are required to be added for each ton of humid sludge.
The treatment of the present invention surpasses the efficiency of the above referred treatments, since for each ton of ammonium sulfate produced, 2,500 kgs of water are evaporated by which all the energy of the exothermic reactions of the treatment of the present invention is used: the combustion of sulfur with air until sulfur dioxide is obtained, the oxidation of sulfur dioxide into sulfur trioxide, the reaction of the sulfur trioxide with water, and the reaction between ammonia and sulphuric acid.
Furthermore, the process of the present invention uses a non-elaborated raw material such as the sulfur, instead of a final product such as the sulphuric acid, thus improving the economy of the process.
It is therefore an object of the present invention, to provide a process for the treatment of sludge which follows the rules of the environmental laws.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide a process of the above-disclosed nature which generates a product having a sufficiently high commercial value.
It is another object of the present invention, to provide a process of the above-disclosed nature in which by each ton of ammonium sulfate produced, 2,500 kgs of water are evaporated, by which all the energy of the exothermic reactions of the treatment of the present invention is used, surpassing the efficiency of the process of the prior art.
It is yet a further object of the present invention, to provide a process of the above-disclosed nature which uses a non-elaborated raw material such as the sulfur, instead of a final product such as the sulphuric acid, thus improving the economy of the process.
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent to those persons having ordinary skill in the art, from the following detailed description of the invention.